FN-49 Survey - Attention FN-49 Owners

Hi â€“ I just found your Board and it looks like there are some FN-49 owners here. I have been running several FN-49 surveys on the Parallax, Tuco/Gunboards, and FAL Files Boards for several months. I now have data for 291 FN-49 rifles in my data base. We have learned a lot about the FN-49 as a result of Board memberâ€™s contributions.

I would appreciate it if all FN-49 owners on this Board would participate in this survey. The more rifles in the data base . . . the more we learn. The survey questions are posted below. You may post your results on this thread, or if your prefer, you may email me direct at fn49fan@earthlink.net.

I only capture serial numbers down to a block of 100 numbers (i.e., 99XX) and I DO NOT retain any actual names or Board names/nicknames with the data. This limits the fidelity of the data, but protects everyoneâ€™s privacy. Please replace the last 2 numbers of your serial number with â€œXXsâ€ unless your serial number is 3 digits or less â€“ then use one â€œX.â€

The â€œscope cutâ€ is a very shallow female dovetail, .5â€ in height, that runs along the left receiver rail. The upper part of the dovetail is visible â€“ the lower end of the dovetail is usually at or slightly below the stock.

Egyptian Contract (8x57 chambering â€“ 7.92x57 for you purists):

Serial Number
Receiver ring crest (crown or eagle)?
Have scope cut on left receiver rail?
Have a middle sling swivel located about 2â€ in front of the magazine?
Have a reinforcing crossbolt in the stock?

Optional question: Is the bolt machined to take a firing pin safety stop? (This machining is in the top of the bolt and is milled down into the firing pin channel on the aft end of the bolt). If so, does the bolt serial number match the receiver serial number?

Venezuelan Contract (7x57 chambering):

Serial number
Have a circular â€œFuerzas Armadas Venezuelaâ€ cartouche on the right side of the buttstock?
Does the rear guard screw (behind trigger guard) have a small lock screw?
Optional question: Have a 2-piece or 1-piece handguard? (requires loosening the lower band in order to wiggle the handguards to find out).

Note: Itâ€™s generally accepted that all Venezuelans had the scope cut and muzzle brake so I am not surveying for that data.

Argentine Contract (7.62x51 chambering w/detachable box magazine):

Serial number
Have scope cut on the left receiver rail?
Have an â€œARAâ€ cartouche on the buttstock? On left side or right side?

Note: If you have an Argentine in the original 7.65 chambering, please feel free to share your good fortune with the rest of us!

30-06 RIFLES

Which Contract? (check receiver ring marking â€“ see legend below)
Serial Number
Have scope cut on the left receiver rail?
Which buttplate? (stamped steel w/trap OR ridged steel with no trap OR, for Colombian rifles only, a rubber pad?)
Have a reinforcing crossbolt in the stock just below the receiver ring?

1) S/N 080x. All serial numbers including the one on the stock match.
2) No Dovetail, that I can see, (there is a flat "square" cut on the receiver left side and I am not sure about below the wood, I'll look another time).
3. No "ARA" Cartouche on the Stock at all. There is an "ARA" cartouche on the left side of the receiver, at the front near the Argentinian Crest, opposite the S/N.

Don't worry about looking for the scope cut as none of the Argies have had it yet (I've got 22 Argies in the data base). Just for general info, the scope cut, if it was there, would look like either the middle or bottom rifle in the enclosed pic. The left receiver rail of your Argy, since it probably does NOT have the cut, would look like the top receiver in the pic.

Thanks very much for participating in the survey. I've got your data on the 2 Egyptians and the 1 Venezuelan which brings me from 297 up to 300 rifles in the data base! ! !

I can't quite decipher your other entries however. You have 2 posts with 3 rifles on the first post and 2 rifles on the second post. I can't make out if you are reporting just an Argentine OR an Argentine AND a Colombian (which would be a total of 5 rifles).

Can you take a look at your posts and resubmit that last rifle(s)?

Thanks again for all your help. 300 rifles was an important milestone for me . . . my goal is 500 rifles, but 300 is GOOD progress!

Dana - OK thanks. I'm going to interpret the 3rd rifle on your first post as an Argentine, however, there's no serial number and it probably has an Argentine crest. The 2nd rifle in your 2nd post I'm going to interpret as a Colombian, SN 05XX,with a ridged steel buttplate with no trap.

Blackbird - Thanks for the data - you just put me up to 341 rifles in the data base!

Just FYI, nearly all Vennies below SerNo 4000 are reported to have 1-piece handguards. There have been reports of rifles in this range that have 2-piece handguards - it's thought that these handguards may have originally been 1-pc that were cut in the area under the band as an expedient to more readily adjust the gas. It could have been done in Venezuela but most were probably cut here in the U.S. sometime over the last 35 years or so.

The only FN-49s with 1-piece handguards WERE the 1st 4000 Vennies so obviously the word got back to FN and they phased in a design change on all subsequent rifles.

Serial Number: 37,9XX
Receiver ring crest (crown or eagle)?: Yes
Have scope cut on left receiver rail?: Yes
Have a middle sling swivel located about 2â€ in front of the magazine?: Yes
Have a reinforcing crossbolt in the stock? I have to check, I can pick it up Saturday (the PRK requires a 10 day wait).

Optional question: Is the bolt machined to take a firing pin safety stop? (This machining is in the top of the bolt and is milled down into the firing pin channel on the aft end of the bolt). If so, does the bolt serial number match the receiver serial number?: I have to check, but I know that the bolt S/N matches the Receiver.

The Stock has the correct relief cut for the select fire setup.

My personal opinion, is that I really prefer the Argentinian .308 version. Both my Argentinian and Egyptian are in superior condition to that of the FN-49's shown on the cover of "The SAFN-49 Battle Rifle" North Cape Publications, cover. Their finish is similar to the original finish of M1 Garands, and both have excellent Walnut stocks. I am not saying they don't have dings from mishandling, or placing on a pile of rifles, etc., they do have those to reinforce the fact that they are Battle Rifles.

Thanks for contributing the data on the new rifle. I know what you mean about the waiting period as I am also a resident of the PRK.

Do me a favor and recheck your data when you pick up the rifle and then post an updated report. Also, on the question of which crest it has (Crown or Eagle) can you check that too when you get the rifle.

Lastly, the serial number you posted is by far the highest Egyptian that I've recorded so when you get the rifle let's confirm that too and that we're looking at the serial number on the receiver and not on the receiver cover for instance. Also, if you would like to share, I like to go one more digit on the serial number when I'm dealing with the highest or lowest of a particular feature so we'd only use one "X" in the serial number.

I'd appreciate this second check especially because this is the highest number Eyptian and is therefore important to me.

Goose52 - I can look closely at it tomorrow, as it is held at the range where I volunteer. I work until 8:00 PM, so the answers may be a bit late in the evening. On the Serial number, I have it written down as two different numbers, I found this because I checked it again after reading your "Highest Number" comment. 34,9XX and 37,9XX. I doubt the 37,9XX number now, because according to the http://walnut.tmcom.com/~jlandry/firearms/FN49.html

site 37,641 is all that were produced in 8mm.

I will pick it up for sure Saturday and I have no problem with providing the complete S/N if it is in fact the high number.

Sorry about the (Crown or Eagle?) "Yes" answer, I just didn't read closely.

On the finish comment, I was writing about the finish of my rifles, as being superior to "The SAFN-49 Battle Rifle" North Cape Publications, cover rifles.

I looked at a 7mm Venezuelan, and should have bought it, but the stock looked as though it had lived on the freeway for a month of sundays, and the metal was not much better. The .30-06 got away before I could get to it. I am sure I would have bought it, because the guy who told me about it said it looked better than my Argentinian, and this is from a guy who really knows rifles and looks at the whole rifle not just the stock. He only buys rifles in really good condition, he has the bucks to be choosey, and when he goes after one, he will get it, and for a reasonable price.

Is the bolt machined to take a firing pin safety stop?: No, as far as I understand.

The Handguard is 2 pieces.

Incidently after I took it apart, and put it back together, I had difficulty getting the bolt stop to work properly. It stayed in front of the bolt and I had to get help to release the bolt. It turned out that I had tightened the screw between the trigger guard and the magazine too tightly. Since the two screws 1 in front and 1 behind the magazine are kept from turning with 1 set screw against the head, neither of the screws should be able to back out.

Goose52 - I looked at the three FN-49's offered, 2 snipers w/scopes (maybe not correct, or maybe correct), and 1 Vennie 7mm. All seemed to be high in price. Their Reserve Prices on the Snipers was $2000.00, for a .30-06 Columbian Sniper, in like new condition, and $1200.00 for a Vennie 7mm sniper. They are in what appears to be excellent condition, but not that much better than my own Egyptian 7.92 x 57mm and Argentinian .308. I'll pass on these and let somebody with more dollars than sense (cents) have them. The .30-06 that I was looking to get, before, was in nearly as good a condition, but it was not a sniper, and it sold for $475.00.

Goose52 - Is the middle sling swivel there for potential use as a select fire, or another covert purpose? Thanks for advising about the last 2,500 or so Egyptians.

Will your survey be available, do you have it in an ongoing spreadsheet or ?, and is it available to look at somewhere? Do you have a distribution of regions of the US, of where the FN-49's are?

I trust, even if you are a LEO that your interest is scientific in nature. No real problems with LEO's, our club has many in it from City, County, State, and Federal (including BATF & FBI), some have remained with the club even after leaving a LEO position to retire, or become active in practicing law. They all enjoy shooting along with the rest of the club, and are quite welcome to be members, as the only excluded people are those who are restricted by law from owning firearms, and of course anyone who restricts themselves. The club is a cross section of our society (except for Anti-Gunners), and quite obviously attorneys, LEO's, Doctors, etc. are all part of the cross section.

I have LEO friends who are not club members that shoot at the range with the rest of us, again they are a mixture of various local, state, and Federal Agencies. Not bragging, or complaining, just presenting facts.